Tummy Tuck with Umbilical and Ventral Hernia Repair

was able to take a full shower yesterday, which was heavenly. It did take me close to an hour to get undressed, untangle and manage drains for shower, shower, dry, then untangle again and dress. Situated the binder lower over my hips today and that greatly reduced the discomfort due to swelling I experienced yesterday. Previously, I've been putting the bottom of the binder just above incision line. This caused an unsightly bulging of swelling that irritated the incision. I feel like today is also the first day that I was able to stand almost upright, and take a comfortable yawn. Walked through Target, drove myself around town, and still felt human by about 5 p.m. I haven't been on painkillers during the day for about 3 days now, and I'm driving with a large pillow over my abdomen. But perfectly comfortable with driving. Taking it slow and steady getting in and out of the car.

I could barely wait to get to the doctor and have him remove the tight dressings from my abdomen! Also today's the day I got to see my new belly button and incision for the first time. What a joyous moment! I have always had a little hernia, even prior to my giant babies, so having an innie is a whole new experience for me. Which I love! It's currently filled with black sutures and goo, but he says it looks healthy and should end up being quite small. Bonus! The incision line is very clean and symmetrical, right exactly where I would have liked it underneath a swimsuit bottom. I gave him many compliments on it and he seemed pleased. :) Although I'm still quite swollen, as you can see in the picture, I do feel like it's less with each passing day. Not fully upright yet, and still feel very very tight.

The pic probably isn't showing it, but swelling has definitely decreased. The sense of having intense pressure inside is also much better. This is because I had a BM - yeehah! That was a major factor in the uncomfortable pressure. Also ladies, if you find the stool softener pills aren't doing much , move right on to Milk of Magnesia! You don't want to wait around feeling constipated. M.o.M. works! ????

I decided to stop Percocet today, and just use Tylenol. Don't like the fuzzy headed feeling, plus was concerned about continued constipation issues. So far the Tylenol seems to be handling any discomfort very well. Drains have really slowed down, and the fluid has become less red and moved into the light pinkish- yellow territory. I think this is a good sign. Finding that I can't eat more than about half of what I normally can, or the bloating gets painful. Hopefully this will serve me well over the next few weeks and I can lose a few pounds. ????